Wanted to get my log re-established on this board and so wanted to follow up with my current status. No idea how to link my old thread from my HUB since I can't seem to get a URL that doesn't link to my HUB.

KSMan's requirements:-age: 27-height: 6'1 -waist: 36in-weight: 235lbs-describe body and facial hair: all over-describe where you carry fat and how changed: belly, thighs. dropping belly fat quickly-health conditions, symptoms [history]: some sort of gut issue. celiac by blood test, endoscopy said otherwise. still have trouble with bloating, gas, consitpation, etc. better when i avoid glutens and add in digestive enzymes. probiotics havent done anything real noticeable for me-Rx and OTC drugs, any hair loss drugs or prostate drugs: see below-lab results with ranges: see below-describe diet [some create substantial damage with starvation diets]: high protein/fat diet mostly. when i do have carbs I have trouble keeping it clean but I am trying to make the switch to rice/potatoes as my main carb sources-describe training [some ruin there hormones by over training]: 1 heavy leg day, 1 heavy upper body day, 1 rep upper day, 1 conditioning/jump/calisthenics/crossfit day, just added in flag football-testes ache, ever, with a fever: had an ache years ago that i needed ER visit for. said it was just inflammation and motrin took care of it. ultrasound showed small benign cysts. currently just ache with finding TRT/hCG balance occasionally-how have morning wood and nocturnal erections changed: got better during hCG mono then disappeared, same with Testosterone

I still have either not found the sweet spot for my TRT (which I know I am still working on estrodiol) or I have something else going on as I still don't have the energy, libido, mood, etc that I believe I should be able to obtain. I have added in the L-Tyrosine to boost dopamine, DHEA/7keto to boost DHEA-S to top of range (not tested yet). Neither of these have done anything noticeable yet.

My most current labs: (T 200mg 1x/week and hcg 400iu (2x) taken the day immediately after injection)

The 1st set of labs was done by an endo/neurosurgeon due to pituitary microadenoma found to not be anything of concern. Havent had a lab done since I started AI right around 1/17/13. I suspect my estrogen is not within a good range which I need to control but multiple posters are trying to explain to me that my T dosage may be too high. I may be open to lowering it as it woudl reduce the amount of AI, and I would store some for a possible future blast of short term cycle.

I'm set to get the basic labs done again tomorrow morning: T, SHGB, DHEA-S, E2, etc. I then plan on cutting my Rx to 80mg 2x/week T-cyp, 500iu 2x/week, and then try and hone AI based on feel. Unfortunately I think my diet is really affecting my AI results as nothing has changed in terms of Rx but morning wood is all but gone

Your lab readings are controlled by how often you inject and when the lab work is done. If you inject more often, then lab results will be closer to reality. So what is your lab timing and for next labs?

Suggest T twice a week or try the EOD routine in the protocol for injections sticky.

Thyroid hormones look good, but may not be if you have low body temps and/or iodine deficiency. Read the thyroid basics sticky. Post info hear and ping me then.

So no problem with your pituitary? Prolactin is a bit high in the range. google [research chemical cabergoline] and read cabergoline on Wikipedia.

So your hematocrit is good? Hemoglobin?Iron/ferritin? - these can be a problem with some gut issues, occult blood loss

KSman wrote:Your lab readings are controlled by how often you inject and when the lab work is done. If you inject more often, then lab results will be closer to reality. So what is your lab timing and for next labs?

Suggest T twice a week or try the EOD routine in the protocol for injections sticky.

Thyroid hormones look good, but may not be if you have low body temps and/or iodine deficiency. Read the thyroid basics sticky. Post info hear and ping me then.

So no problem with your pituitary? Prolactin is a bit high in the range. google [research chemical cabergoline] and read cabergoline on Wikipedia.

So your hematocrit is good? Hemoglobin?Iron/ferritin? - these can be a problem with some gut issues, occult blood loss

I'm doing the T twice/week now M and F and that's how I'd like to keep it. My labs tomorrow will be done in the AM the day after INJ which is how I normally try and roll. The more recent lab there was done on some random day for the neuro but my routine labs are done in that fashion.

I'm always sweating so I thought low body temp would be impossible but a little research shows that it could be an indicator of thyroid problems. After reading the thyroid thread I'll do some temp testing and go from there.

My prolactin fluctuates like that all the time. Some times it will be in the middle and other times it will be high-normal.

I'll have to watch the hemoglobin and iron- he normally run a full panel when labs are taken so I'm sure I have these values, just need to find them. The endos were worried about my IGF-1 being too high as well

----I would say that in reality, my need for TRT in the first place has me concerned. I thought this would be the fix even after years of trying different things and I am disappointed in that I still dont have the improvement I was seeking. Ideally, I'd like to figure out what is REALLY going wrong and restart myself right off of TRT-----

Yesterday's waking temp was 97.7, today 98.1. Took temp late last night and it was 98.1 I believe too. I'll try and check throughout the day if I remember.

Does this mean my thyroid is ok? If I don't hit 98.6 throughout the day should I be incorporating IR? What other sources are there for it than Iodoral? Iodized sea salt doesn't seem sufficient and most of the iodine supplements on Amazon don't really tell you amounts.

Waking at 97.7 is considered good, no problem, if you also get 98.6 during the day. I still have some concerns:- TSH is then still elevated, iodine could still be low and TSH is sully compensating- one might want a deeper iodine reserve

Obviously the above are a bit fuzzy and hardly a call to action. There are complexities.

At 11:50AM yesterday I was 97.2. Got another one late afternoon and was 97.7 I think... Need for iodine?

I'd like to review the supps I am taking and see what I can remove and what I can keep. It seems I am constantly finding "the fix" only to jump on a supplement that doesn't do anything for me. I am hoping a little iodine will help me out and I will grab up some KI tonight.

Hopefully, by boosting my iodine, thyroid will start to be normal and my other hormones and adrenals will start to improve and I can taper off supplements. Again, I'd love to see my body rebound and be able to come off TRT. At this point I think I've been on about 5months...

Good point, some of the other supplements may not have been needed in terms of addressing a cause, but still might have a role to play in terms of addressing the aftermath.

As always, its good to know that others get a 98.6 with the same thermo.

And rT3 may have a role and your stress levels and events are open for consideration. But as adrenal function goes, your cortisol and DHEA look solid. But concerned that you just now mentioned adrenals in this thread.

Well my cortisol has been ok for a while now, I did comment on aldosterone but that doesn't seem to get any attention. I know I had elevated rT3 in the past and we tried to blast it with cytomel but I didn't get any improvement.

Could I drop off DHEA supps then? I don't mind optimizing my hormone panel but first I'd rather get a better "well-being" then set about improving. I will say, I have been dropping weight pretty quickly/effortlessly lately so i'm not sure if the DHEA ties in or not. I'll continue until I see some lab values. I was trying to push to top of range.

I didn't think it was even possible to pay under $5 for a supplement anymore. Since my 7keto DHEA is in cap form now I can't split it so I take my 100mg 7keto in the AM and added 1/2 tab (so ~12.5mg iodine) in before bed. I'll run that for about a week and then kick up to a full tab. Any issue taking at night?

Had to bump up my hCG. My balls have been feeling tight and small lately. I'm going to try 300iu MWF and see if that helps- it's bothering me too much to sit around and wait on labs. Bumped to 1/2 tab of my AI MWF as well.

Still waiting on lab results to come back but I know I'll be under at 1 tab for 200mg Test + 1000iu hCG (now 1200iu)

Had to bump up my hCG. My balls have been feeling tight and small lately. I'm going to try 300iu MWF and see if that helps- it's bothering me too much to sit around and wait on labs. Bumped to 1/2 tab of my AI MWF as well.

Still waiting on lab results to come back but I know I'll be under at 1 tab for 200mg Test + 1000iu hCG (now 1200iu)

Iodine was increased to the full tab at 25mg iodine. I'll ride that for a day or 2 and then bump to 50mg. Bought a new cheap thermometer and it said I was under 97 degrees this morning. I am going to do a comparison to the other thermo tonight to see what results I get.

Either way, something was clicking this morning be it either the upped AI or the increased iodine but when I woke up I was jittery I had so much energy and I had great morning wood. I knew my estrogen was spiked so I figured I would see good results. I'm just hoping I don't overshoot.

Morning temp today was 96.6. Just took it at 13:00 and it was 97.9 on this thermometer.

The more I read the more I realize I need to provide more info so I guess it is worth mentioning that on a lab test many moons ago, I had above range rT3. I'll have to track down the values.

We tried to address it with cytomel (I was working with HAN) but I had no improvement of symptoms. I'll see what happens as I keep ramping up my iodine and my temps increase. Is this something that could improve with IR? Is this an indication of underlying adrenal issues causing all my problems?

I'm about 16ish weeks into TRT, some could just consider that a long cycle and I could jump on PCT and be done

I'll hunt down my most recent labs with those values. I've literally got a filing box full of lab sheets dating back 5 years now.

I don't think the requisition I used for this current lab had those on there. I plan on getting E2 tested again within a month or so using a self-pay lab. If needed, I'll throw rT3 and other thyroid stuff in the mix.

I've had a pretty nasty headache upon waking. I'm wondering if this is related to bromine as I take my iodine at night and the headache goes away. Essentially die-off...

Forgot to track down the labs you asked for earlier and still haven't gotten the new ones back yet.

My sweating habits have gotten weirder. I seem to be sweating way more profusely during trivial tasks but less when working out. I was drenched just shifting a little baby gate around in my house that required a little bit of finesse to install correctly.

My thirst has also gone up and I've never not been a thirsty person. I normally drink a lot of fluids b/c I feel thirsty but now I have been getting dry mouth on even more water than before.

Is this normal on IR? Should I be worried about something here? I was actually hoping the OPPOSITE reaction would occur on IR as I have always been an excessive sweater and drinker.